Shoe



F. s. GoRMAN SHOE Nov. 11 ,-1924, 1,515,198

Filed Oct. .3, 1922 Patented Nov. l1, i924.

A asians FRANK s. sorti/IAN, or HAvna'HrIiL, MASSACHUSETTS.

Application led October 3, 1922. Serial No. 592,056.

To all whom. t m04/ concern.' v f Be it known that I, FRANK S. GORMAN, acitizen of the United Stat-es, a resident of Haverhill, in the county ofEssex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Shoes,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvement-s in that class of shoesknown as welts and has for its primary object to provide-'a form ofshoe, and a process of making the same, which will enable the sewingoperation, except the final operation of attaching the outer sole,- tothe welt, to be performed as a partof the upper fitting operation, withthe comomn type of straight needle sewing machine, so that a substantialsaving in labor cost and machine expense may be' made. A further objectispto provide a form of welt shoe which-will be more flexible andcomfortable to the wearer than the ordinary form of welt shoe.

In the same connection, another object of my invention is to provide animproved process of making shoes of the above de'- Y scribed characterwhereby the article produced may be improved andl expense of manufacturereduced.

I accomplish these objects in the manner hereinafter described and asillustrated in the accompanying drawing in which :e

Fig. l is a longitudinal section of a shoe in the initial stage of theprocess of constructing the same according to my invention.

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are transverse sections of the shoe, illustratingsuccessive stages in said process.

According to my invention, the preliminary work of fitting the upper aand lining b is the same as is customary up to the point when the shoeis usually lasted. Instead, however, of lasting the shoe, the edgeportion of the lining Zn is stitched to the inner sole, which preferablycomprises a leather section 0 having a canvas covering c. In stitchingthe lining thereto. the inner side of the lining is laid on the upper orinner surface of the inner sole with its edge flush with the edgethereof and then they are stitched together bv a row of stitches' d,which extend through the sole from top to bottom, as indicated inFig. 1. At the time the upper a is cut out, a line as a', is drawn aboutthe upper edge portion on its outer or grain side, at a uniform distancefrom its edge', and then a welt strip e isstitched to the upper by a rowofv stitches f. In performing rthis operation, the grain side of thewelt is laid against the' outer, or grain lside of the upper.y above.and with one edge coincident with the line a', and the stitches 7 arepassed directly through thc welt adjacent said edgeand through theupper, so that the partsfwill be in the condition illustrated. in

Figr. VVh'ile it is considered to be' more convenient to attach theinner sole to thev lining prior to the attachment ofthe .welt to theupper, it is not an essential to thesuccessful employment of myprocesswhich of theseoperations are performed first.

After these two operations have been performed, the counter and box, forstiffening the heely and toe portions, are placed in position and thenthe shoe is drawn' on to the last. As the inner-sole and lining will`have been stitched together in relation to the' last onk which theshoeis 'to' be made they will fit the last closely when drawn thereon.

be drawnk onto theinnersole. soy-that it is drawn tightly aboutrthelast, and is secured inypositio-n on the inner sole by cement, which hasApreviously been applied ,to the outer surface thereof. f i.

Usually afew tacks will also be employed to, hold the upper in positionuntil the cement sets. The welt "is vattached atsuch a point on theupper that, when the uppery has been drawn into position about the last,the edge portion of the welt which is attached will overlie the edgeportion of the inner sole, and the whole welt will lie fiat with theinner-sole with its o-pposite edge portion projecting beyond the side ofthe last. The point then reached in the process is indicated in Fig. 3.

After the cement has set sufficiently to retain the upper in thisposition, the tacks are removed and the outersole g is secured inposition thereon and stitched to the projecting edge portion of thewelt, this operation being the same as the usual outer sole stitchingoperation on the ordinary welt shoe. The resulting construction isillustrated in Fig. l, and the subsequent operations performed do notdiffer from those ordinarily performed in the manufacture of shoes ofthis character. l

A shoe thus constructed has all the ad- The edge portion of the upperwill then lli) vantages of a Welt shoe, in that it may be repaired, hasthe same Wearing qualities, and is precisely the same in outwardappearance. The shoe is, moreover, more flexible than the ordinary weltshoe, as the seams Which attach the lining to the inner sole, and theupper to the Welt are of a form Which do not tend to stiften the shoe,While the ordinary chain stitch inseam, which attaches the inner sole tothe lining, upper and Welt tends to stiien the shoe to a substantialextent. The form of inner sole which is usually or necessarily employed,is less flexible than that which may be employed in the above describedconstruction.

Further advantages are secured, in that the canvas covering which isemployed on the inner side of the inner sole and forms a part thereof,also serves as a sock lining, and is securely held in position by thestitches Which attach the lining to the inner sole, so that it cannotbecome displaced, as is liable to occur When the lining is held inposition by an adhesive.

A substantial saving is also made in the labor expense as the inner soleand Welt seams are formed on the ordinary straight needle sewingmachines, by less highly skilled labor than that required for the usualwelting operation. A further saving is made in that the only bottomingmachine, which is employed in the process, is the outer sole stitcher.

Mfhile the above described process is believed to be more particularlyadvantageous in the manufacture of childrens shoes, it may be employedto advantage in the inanufacture of shoes of larger sizes.

I claim-- l. A Welt shoe having the inner sole connected to the liningby one roW of stiches and the Welt connected to the outer side Oi theupper by a second row of stitches, the edge portion of the upper beingextended neiaiee beneath the inner sole and holding the Welt in positionfor attachment oi the outer sole.

2. A Welt shoe comprising the upper, a lining therefor, an inner soleand a Welt, t-he upper having the Welt stitched to the outer sidethereofby one rovv of stitches, and the lining having the inner solestitched thereto by another row of stitches, the edge portion oi theupper fbeing laid onto the outer side of the inner sole to hold the WeltWith its edge portion projecting beyond the side of the shoe, and anouter sole stitched to the projecting portion of the Welt.

3. A Welt shoe comprising the fitted upper and lining, an inner sole anda welt, the upper having one edge-portion of the Welt stitched to theouter side thereof by one row of stitches located at a substantialdistance from the edge of the upper and the lining having its edgeportion stitched to the inner sole by another row of stitches, the edge`portion of the upper extending onto the outer side of the inner soleand holding the Welt so that its inner edge portion overlies the innersole, and an outer sole stitched to the outer portion of the Welt.

4. A Welt shoe comprising the litted upper and lining, an inner sole anda Welt, the upper having one edge portion of the Welt stitched to theouter' side thereof by one row of stitches located therein at asubstantial distance irom the edge of the upper and said lining yhavingits edge portion turned out coincidently with the edge of the innersoleand stitched onto the same by another row of stitches, the edge portionol the upper being extended onto the outer sido of the inner sole, andholding said`edge portion of the Welt so that it overlies the innersole, and an outer sole stitched to the outer edge yportion of the Welt.

In testimony whereof, l have signed my name to this specification.

FRANK S. GOJRMAN.

